St Duthus co-boss Stuart Ross reckons a switch of focus to their defence of the Football Times Cup comes at a good time for his players this weekend.
The knockout competition begins with four first round ties kicking off at 2pm on Saturday.
Saints won the silverware pre-pandemic, two terms ago, with a final triumph over Golspie Sutherland and they face a stern test by hosting early North Caledonian League leaders Halkirk United.
St Duthus gave Halkirk a real run for their money in the league just a couple of weeks ago as they led 2-0 and 4-2 before the Anglers hit back for a pulsating 4-4 draw.
The Tain team have had a winless start to their league campaign, with 3-2 defeat at Bonar Bridge on Saturday a sore one to take after leading twice.
Halkirk lead the division with seven points from nine after their impressive 5-2 home victory against Nairn County reserves.
Ross has seen enough from his group, which includes many new faces, to suggest they are going in the right direction as they target progression in the cup as a kick-starter.
Change of mindset for cup opener
He said: “We are looking towards the cup for a bit of change of mindset, with something different for the boys to go for.
“Halkirk and much improved and it was a very good game in Tain a couple of weeks ago. We missed a penalty and had a goal disallowed, which was probably onside having looked at the highlights.
“We’re expecting another tough game. The cup will be a nice break for a few teams in the league already. You can see by the league results so far that any team is capable of winning games, so hopefully we can get our season up and running with a win on Saturday.
“We’re not panicking. We’re scoring goals and creating plenty of chances. We just need to keep the door shut at the other end as well as getting our boys along regularly and gelling. Going forward, we have no qualms at all.”
Heath injury put Saints off track
St Duthus have wished Bonar Bridge player Fraser Heath a full and speedy recovery after he suffered a nasty wrist injury, which delayed play for almost an hour while an ambulance arrived and medics administered treatment.
Saints had the early lead through Finn As-Chainey when the injury happened and Ross admits it was his team who were knocked most by the delay.
He added: “I was happy with Saturday until 25 minutes in when, unfortunately, Fraser had a bad fall and broke his wrist and we wish him well in his recovery.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS #StDuthusFC #NorthCaley
Highlights of Saturday's 3-2 defeat to Bonar Bridge at Migdale Park.https://t.co/mvyZBVQnXa— St. Duthus Football Club (@StDuthusFC) September 5, 2021
“However, that break in the game didn’t do us favours. It was nearly an hour for the ambulance to arrive and we had to warm-up again and it was in fact Bonar who were on the front foot after that.
“It was hard, but our luck will change. There are a lot of things not going our way right now, but it’s swings and roundabouts and I’m sure it will even itself out.
“It’s not been a great start to the season for us. We’ve had a lot of chopping and changing with a lot of boys working and being unavailable.
“The team has been unsettled and it has been hard to get any continuity going.”
FT: Bonar Bridge 3 St. Duthus 2
A very disappointing outcome for Saints today to continue a poor start for the season.
Sending well wishes to Bonar’s Fraser Heath who suffered a horror injury today. We hope he has a speedy recovery.
— St. Duthus Football Club (@StDuthusFC) September 4, 2021
Inverness in swift return to Golspie
Elsewhere in the cup this weekend, league champions Golspie Sutherland host Inverness Athletic just two weeks after these sides shared eight goals in their season opener at the same venue.
Golspie haven’t played a league game since then, but progressed in the Scottish Cup with a victory at Hawick St Albert to line up a first round home shot at Civil Service Strollers next weekend.
Athletic will be looking to bounce back from a 4-1 defeat against Loch Ness which they led in until Matty Shewan was shown a red card on the hour mark.
Loch Ness cashed in on this and Phil MacDonald hit a 13-minute hat-trick before Ryan Ingram put the seal on a sparkling second half show.
Also in the cup, Invergordon are home to Alness United, two weeks after they recorded a 3-2 away win against their rivals in the league.
Thurso, who have lost their first two league games, are home to a confident Bonar Bridge side in their first-round tie.
Bonar’s victory over St Duthus followed a four-goal recovery to secure a 4-4 draw with Alness the week before.
Loch Ness target top spot in league
There is one league fixture on Saturday as Inverness Amateur Premier Division champions Loch Ness get the chance to move top if they can see off Orkney in a 12.45pm kick-off at Bught Park.
That stirring victory over Inverness Athletic at the weekend moved them to within one point of pace-setters Halkirk United with one match in hand.
Our Home park for the @NorthCaleyFA 21/22 season is…
“King George V Park” in Fortrose.
Unfortunately we couldn’t secure a ground in Inverness. But we will play our first game here on the 25th of September when we host @StDuthusFC . #FORZALOCHNESS pic.twitter.com/11i1Cz5GbM
— Loch Ness Football Club (@LochNessFC) September 7, 2021
Loch Ness, meanwhile, have confirmed they will play their home matches at King George V Park in Fortrose from September 25 as the lack of available pitches in Inverness continues to hamper clubs in the Highland capital.
